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Actress: I was misled about anti-Muslim film

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Story highlights

"This makes me sick to my stomach," actress says

Casting call advertisement describes the movie as an "adventure film"

A Florida pastor who burned a Quran says he was asked to distribute the film

The 80 cast and crew members involved in the making of the movie that has roiled much of the Islamic world said Wednesday they were "grossly misled" about its intent and expressed sorrow over the resulting violence.

"The entire cast and crew are extremely upset and feel taken advantage of by the producer," they said in a statement to CNN about the movie, "Innocence of Muslims."

"We are 100% not behind this film and were grossly misled about its intent and purpose," continued the statement, which was sent to CNN by a member of the production staff who asked not to be identified for security reasons. "We are shocked by the drastic rewrites of the script and lies that were told to all involved. We are deeply saddened by the tragedies that have occurred."

Four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, were killed Tuesday in Libya amid a regional furor over the film, which mocks Islam's prophet.

A casting call published in July 2011 in Backstage magazine and in other publications for actors identifies the working title of the movie as "Desert Warrior" and describes it as a "historical Arabian Desert adventure film."

An actress in the film who asked not to be identified said the original script did not include a Prophet Muhammed character. She added that she and other actors complained that their lines had been changed.

The actress said she spoke Wednesday with the producer, who is identified in the advertisement as Sam Bassiel. "He said he wrote the script because he wants the Muslims to quit killing," she said. "I had no idea he was doing all this."

"I would never be involved in a film to ever hurt or bring harm to anybody," she told CNN. "This makes me sick to my stomach to think that I was involved in that movie that brought death to somebody else."

Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi 22 photos

Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi22 photos

Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – Attackers set the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, on fire on September 11, 2012. The U.S. ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, and three other U.S. nationals were killed during the attack. The Obama administration initially thought the attack was carried out by an angry mob responding to a video, made in the United States, that mocked Islam and the Prophet Mohammed. But the storming of the mission was later determined to have been a terrorist attack.

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Photos: Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi22 photos

Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – Obama and Clinton stand at Andrews Air Force Base as the bodies of the four Americans killed are returned on September 14.

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Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – A desk sits inside the burnt U.S. mission on September 13, two days after the attack.

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Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – Damage is seen inside the U.S. mission on September 13.

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Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – A lounge chair and umbrella float in the swimming pool of the U.S. mission on September 13.

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Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – Demonstrators gather in Libya on September 12 to condemn the killers and voice support for the victims.

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Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – U.S. President Barack Obama, with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on September 12, makes a statement at the White House about Stevens' death.

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Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – A burnt vehicle is seen at the U.S. mission in Benghazi on September 12.

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Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – People inspect the damage on September 12.

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Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – A small American flag is seen in the rubble on September 12.

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Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – A man stands in part of a burned-out building of the U.S. mission on September 12.

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Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – Smoke and fire damage is evident inside a building on September 12.

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Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – Half-burnt debris and ash cover the floor of one of the U.S. mission buildings on September 12.

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Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – The U.S. mission is seen in flames on September 11, the day of the attack.

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Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – A protester reacts as the U.S. mission burns on September 11.

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Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – A vehicle and the surrounding area are engulfed in flames on September 11.

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Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – Flames erupt outside of a building on September 11.

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Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – A vehicle burns during the attack on the U.S. mission on September 11.

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Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – Onlookers record the damage from the attack on September 11.

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Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – Onlookers walk past a burning truck and building on September 11.

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Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – A vehicle sits smoldering in flames on September 11.

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Attack on U.S. mission in Benghazi – People duck flames outside a building on September 11.

A member of the production staff who worked directly on the film and has a copy of the original script corroborated the actor's account, adding that it mentions neither Muhammed nor Islam.

The Wall Street Journal identified the filmmaker as Sam Bacile, an Israeli-American real estate developer. The Journal reported that, in its telephone interview with Bacile, he characterized his film as "a political effort to call attention to the hypocrisies of Islam."

"Islam is a cancer," he told the newspaper. "The movie is a political movie. It's not a religious movie."

CNN has not been able to contact Bacile and cannot verify that he made the movie. A CNN search of public records on Sam Bacile came up empty.

"This guy is totally anonymous. At this point no one can confirm he holds Israeli citizenship and even if he did we are not involved," ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said. "No Israeli institution, government department or office has any involvement in this. This guy acted on his own behalf."

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Klein, however, said it was not the film's fault that protests had turned bloody.

Casting further doubt on the filmmaker's identity, The Atlantic quoted Klein as saying Sam Bacile is a pseudonym and "he did not know Bacile's real name." CNN could not immediately reach Klein for his response to that report.

An online trailer for the film depicts Islam as a fraudulent religion bent on getting rid of nonbelievers.

Cartoonish scenes show Muhammed as a womanizer, child molester and ruthless killer. Other scenes show security forces ordered to do nothing as rampaging Muslims destroy Christian homes, and a donkey anointed the first Muslim animal.

Many Muslims find any depiction of Muhammed to be offensive -- a Danish newspaper's publication in 2005 of Mohammed caricatures triggered riots -- and derogatory depictions of the prophet are considered by some to be worse.

"The film is offensive to the prophet and immoral," said Egyptian Prime Minister Hashem Kandil. "We call on the great people of Egypt to exercise restraint when expressing their anger."

The prime minister called on the United States to take legal action against the makers of the film, though it was not clear that it violates any U.S. law.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Bacile said he raised $5 million from about 100 Jewish donorsto make the two-hour movie in California last year. Based on the trailer, the movie appears to have been produced on a low budget.

The movie, which was posted in July on YouTube, got more notice after Egyptian television recently aired segmentsand anti-Islam activists, including Egyptian-born Coptic Christian Morris Sadek, promoted it online.

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood -- the former party of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy -- has called for peaceful protests against the film on Friday, Islam's day of religious observance.

In Afghanistan, the Taliban charged that the movie was made with the permission of the U.S. government. The First Amendment prohibits the government from interfering with free expression.

President Hamid Karzai condemned the film as abhorrent and an act of desecration. "There could be many deaths once news of this video and Pastor Terry Jones' comments get out," said Karzai's deputy spokesman.

In America, a Muslim advocacy group called the movie "trashy" and said its producers represented neither the United States nor the Christian faith.

"We urge that this ignorant attempt to provoke the religious feelings of Muslims in the Arabic-speaking world be ignored and that its extremist producers not be given the cheap publicity they so desperately seek," said the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Facebook sprouted several pages dedicated to condemning the film, including one called "Israelis, Jews & Americans Against Sam Bacile's 'Innocence of Muslims' Film."

A testy exchange erupted between Sen. John McCain and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey during the latter's testimony about September's deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya.